Here is a fun way to entice your children (or yourself) to paint scenes otherwise not attempted. Look what happens when you explore the artsy button in a paint program.
I happen to have one called Jasc Paint Shop Pro 8. Above is a perfectly lovely sunset scene. Using my handy dandy EFFECTS button, followed by ART EFFECTS, you can convert the photo to BRUSH STROKES.
The brush strokes button has about 30 different options within it, including impressionist, watercolor etc. Here it is close up for IMPRESSIONIST. Even within each option there are generally lots of adjustments you can make for brush width, density of the effect and so on.
Other options include charcoal, colored chalk, colored pencil and pencil, 
or placing the picture on differnt kinds of textures
such as a wood cut ... The options go on and on!
How about mosaic?
or one of my favorites, psychadelic sculpture...........
No matter which effect you use, the outcome is the same, take a photo, turn it into something the kids feel like they could reproduce on canvas, paper or some other art materials (see earlier art materials post!) and they will run with the idea. Even better, let them go take the digital photo, and then play on the print shop program with them. Once they have seen the many different ways a picture can be presented you have just opened another door for their creative talents..... Then of course, you need to frame the end result....
For extra fun, try doing this with the photo of one of the kids................
Aussie Kim
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